The Hoyas went 7-3 on the weekend, finishing third overall in the point standings.

April 14, 2014

WASHINGTON – The Georgetown University heavyweight crew completed competition at the 27th annual George Washington Invitational on Saturday with a program record of 7-3, finishing third overall in the point standings.

On Friday, Georgetown won one of three races against Navy. The victory came in the freshmen eight event when coxswain James Shearman (Ellicott City, Md./Mt. Hebron), stroke Nakul Makkad (Fullerton, Calif./Fairmont Prep), Devin Baker (Glenelg, Md./McDonogh School), Chris Cacace (Yonkers, N.Y./Hackley School), John Oswald (Greenwich, Conn./Greenwich), Ignacio De Lera (Rye, N.Y./Rye Country Day), Bryan Renslo (Palos Verdes, Calif./Chadwick School), Carson Yates (Oklahoma City, Okla./Heritage Hall) and Vaughan Merrick (Greenwich, Conn./Greenwich) overcame an early oar clash with another boat in the race to finish 2.3 seconds ahead of Navy in a time of 5:58.7.

On Saturday morning Georgetown fared better overall against the squad from the University of California San Diego, winning all three races. In the freshmen eight event, Nick Biedermann (Bedford, N.H./Bedford) and Nathan Wegbreit (Wadsworth, Ill./Homeschool) replaced Renslo and Yates from the previous race. The coxswain seat also saw a change, with Caroline Murphy (New Providence, N.J./Pingry School) replacing Shearman. In the race, the Georgetown freshmen overcame a slow start, eventually defeating UCSD by 9.8 seconds in a time of 5:55.4.

Georgetown’s second varsity won their race in a time of 5:59.9, 5.1 seconds ahead of San Diego. In the varsity race and in the same line-up as the previous outing, Georgetown finished 10.2 seconds ahead of UCSD in a time of 5:50.0.

In Saturday afternoon racing, Georgetown’s freshmen eight was back in its original lineup from Friday afternoon. In a stiff headwind, the Hoyas defeated the University of Virginia’s top freshmen for their third victory of the weekend, finishing in a time of 6:13.8, 18.7 seconds ahead of the Cavaliers.

Georgetown also rowed a third varsity eight with a combination of heavyweight and lightweight freshman and heavyweight upperclassmen constituting the boat. Murphy coxswained the boat along with stroke Connor Tweardy (Moorestown, N.J./Moorestown), Corso Rosati (Palo Alto, Calif./Palo Alto), Wegbreit, John Haviland (State College, Pa./State College), Biedermann, John Stopper (Westport, Conn./Staples), John Reilly (Albany, N.Y./Catholic Central) and Steven Lim (Wake Forest, N.C./Ravenscroft School) rowed to a 3.7-second win over Virginia’s second freshman eight in a time of 6:35.4.

The second varsity eight rowed to its second win of the regatta, defeating the Cavaliers in a time of 6:06.1 to 6:16.8. In the hotly-contested varsity race, Virginia blasted off the line to take an early open-water lead. The Hoyas fought back but were unable to make up the deficit, finishing 1.6 seconds behind Virginia.

The Georgetown heavyweights will be back in action this Saturday at 2 p.m., when the Hoyas face Holy Cross, Hobart and Bucknell on Lake Carnegie in Princeton, N.J.